# Aol members fight the coorporate SPAM!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 11, 1999, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631 "1999-09-11T02:56:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mr.Sparkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Mr.Sparkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Sparkle)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/1 "1999-09-11T02:56:00Z")

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I hate their damn search window, which is an obvious ploy to track you like guinea pigs by what you search. I if i wanted to be tracked I’d try Altavista’s free ISP plan…  
To get rid of those annoying pop-ups, AOL mail and others goto  
KW: “Marketing prefs”  
From there you will get options to choose from.  
To access the mail filter goto  
KW:“Mail controls”  
To make the search window easier to zap: minimize it first and then push “Alt-W” and click “Remember window size and position”. Whenever you log on it will automatically minimize itself.  
You need to be on the master account for the first two to work.  
Err…there are better ISPs out there.

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**Author:** ![EnigmaOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EnigmaOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnigmaOne)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/2 "1999-09-11T04:16:00Z")

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{{{Err…there are better ISPs out there.}}}—Mr.Sparkle

Your best bet would then be to dump AOL and go with another ISP. Wouldn’t it?

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– **Kalél**  
_Common ¢ for all ages…_  
“Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling much better now!” – John Astin, Night Court

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**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/3 "1999-09-11T06:59:00Z")

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AOL sucks cock.

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Yer pal,  
Satan

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**Author:** ![nayaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e68b1a/32.png) [@nayaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nayaran)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/4 "1999-09-11T07:33:00Z")

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Since early May (SD on AOL closing date), I have rarely used AOL for anything more than the connection itself and the news. Usually I just start up Netscape and go to my regular sites.

However, all day Wednesday and most of Thursday, I was forced to use AOL for the Internet, because Netscape froze everything. That was the worst 36 hours I have ever experienced involving computers.

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“Of course, that’s just my opinion; I could be wrong.”–Dennis Miller

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**Author:** ![pmh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@pmh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmh)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/5 "1999-09-11T08:09:00Z")

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Satan,

Damn straight!!

I’m using AOL for connection and email only, and still I can’t stand it. However, I hesitate to try other ISPs because of the hassle involved (I’m REAL lazy).

Can anybody who has escaped AOL recommend a clearly superior ISP? (Local companies here are not an option.)

TIA  
WOTSB

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**Author:** ![Mr.Sparkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Mr.Sparkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Sparkle)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 1999, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-members-fight-the-coorporate-spam/7631/6 "1999-09-11T09:21:00Z")

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The family is my ball and chain to AOL, but if you don’t use their services other than web browsing then switch immediately. You’ll notice that webpages download faster. I don’t know any offhand companies but if youcall around you’ll eventually find an operator patient enough to guide you step by step, if not screw’em and save yourself trouble in the future.